Apparently Serbia, and especially Belgrade, has a huge problem with air pollution.
Ms. Francine Pickup, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Serbia, explained that: “It is estimated that cities are the source of as much as 75% of total CO2 emissions in the world, of which the largest percentage comes from traffic and cooling and heating in buildings”. She later continued to explain that 59% of the Serbian population lives in urban areas and that the number is constantly increasing. Because the population density is so high, creating green areas and planting trees – which represent natural air purification in urban areas– is a complex goal to achieve, as there is a lack of free areas for landscaping.
The microalgae replace two 10-year-old trees or 200 square meters of lawn. The function of the LIQUID 3 is practically an imitation of it. Both trees and grass perform photosynthesis and bind carbon dioxide. However, the advantage of microalgae is that it is 10 to 50 times more efficient than trees. The team behind LIQUID 3 has stated that their goal is not to replace forests or tree planting plans but to use this system to fill those urban pockets where there is no space for planting trees. In conditions of intense pollution, such as Belgrade, many trees cannot survive, while algae do not have a problem with the great levels of pollution.
The project is designed to be multifunctional. LIQUID3 is also a bench, it has chargers for mobile phones, as well as a solar panel, thanks to which the bench has lighting during the night.
Dr. Ivan Spasojevic also explained that “the Institute used single-celled freshwater algae, which exist in ponds and lakes in Serbia and can grow in tap water, and are resistant to high and low temperatures. The system does not require special maintenance – it is enough to remove the biomass created by dividing algae, which can be used as an excellent fertilizer, in a month and a half, pour new water and minerals, and the algae continue to grow indefinitely. This project aims to popularize and expand the use of microalgae in Serbia, because they can be used in wastewater treatment, as compost for green areas, for the production of biomass and biofuels, as well as for air purification from exhaust gases from the factories”.
This sounds like it is an incredible innovation for clean air and helping the environment, especially in big cities. And as we’ve seen in the news lately, Air Quality needs all the help it can get!
Therefore… I vote that we GLAMORIZE and ROMANTICIZE these things!
#Aesthetic photos.
Seeing if they can be a DIY Green-Screen, for those who want that kind of thing.
Waxing poetic about the beauty of the green-glass structures.
Stories and/or Art about Pond Fairies taking the opportunity to be Living It Up in the Big City!
Talking about how this vibrant green “Pop of Color” really livens up the concrete-grey cityscape!
Give these things some POSITIVE PR!
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Because a lot of how we conceptualize beauty is cultural. And there’s likely to be a certain knee-jerk reaction to the idea of “"replacing our beautiful trees with weird, gross tanks if pond-scum.”
So let’s find and praise the beauty of these things. So that people will know that we *want* them, as well as seeing the need.
